


Late Night Phone Conversations

by afteriwake



Series: A Past Love [6]
Category: Doctor Who, Sherlock (TV)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-07-05
Updated: 2012-07-05
Packaged: 2017-11-09 06:12:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,618
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/452238
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/afteriwake/pseuds/afteriwake
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It’s three in the morning and Amy can’t sleep. Apparently, neither can Sherlock.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Late Night Phone Conversations

It was three o’clock in the morning and she couldn’t sleep. She tossed and turned in a bed far too big for her, her eyes fluttering open as stray thoughts ran through her head. She’d had a nightmare earlier, reliving the events of Rory’s death as vividly as if it was happening all over again, and from that point on sleep eluded her. With a sigh she sat up in bed and grabbed her phone.

She could call the Doctor. Whether he answered or not was the question, but she could call. Maybe River would be there, and she could talk to her too. She got his number from her contacts and let it ring. It rang six times before she hung up. No help from that corner, apparently. Her other friends would skin her alive if she called them at three AM. But maybe…

She was hesitant. She’d only seen him once since she visited him at his home, when he went with her to sign over the registration and title. She was having issues with her license, having been declared dead and all, so he drove her home. She didn’t invite him to come in and he didn’t ask, but they stood outside and talked for a few minutes. He had said she could call him anytime. She hoped he meant it. She pulled up his number and waited.

“Amelia,” she heard him answer after three rings. “Are you all right?” He didn’t sound like she had just woken him up.

“Can’t sleep,” she said. “I had a nightmare and now I can’t get back to sleep.”

“Ah.”

“Did I wake you up?”

“No, I was awake. I have insomnia.”

“Oh. So that’s why you said I could call any time?”

“I hadn’t thought of that specifically when I made the offer, but I suppose I had thought you might call at some ungodly hour and I would be awake.”

“Oh.” She was quiet for a moment. “How long have you had insomnia?”

“Quite a while. It started when I was about twenty. It got worse after I faked my death.”

“God, when do you sleep?” she asked, moving around so she was sitting cross-legged on her bed.

“I catch a few hours here and there. Every once in a while I’ll get a whole night.” He paused. “Was your nightmare completely fabricated or were you reliving an unpleasant experience?”

“Reliving an unpleasant experience,” she said. “I heard Rory die all over again.”

“You witnessed it?” he asked, and she could hear surprise in his voice.

“Weeping Angels are sadistic bastards,” she said. “I had blinked when they got to him. I went over to him, tried to free him, but I couldn’t. He asked for a last kiss, and I gave him one with my eyes open. He told me to turn and run. I can still hear the snap of his neck. It’s like it echoes in my head.” It hurt to get it out. She hadn’t told anyone else what happened yet. She had honestly thought she wasn’t ready. It had only been a few weeks since it had happened in her timeline. But maybe carrying it had been a burden she hadn’t realized she was holding. It felt better to get it out. “What sets you off?”

“I dream I’m falling off the hospital roof, with Moriarty laughing as I fall,” he said. “There are other dreams as well, but that one is usually enough to get me to snap awake.”

“What was it like?” she asked. “Falling from that great a height?”

“For a few moments I felt weightless, but the impact was very painful,” he said. “Some of the injuries from the fall flare up still in a very vivid reminder that I nearly broke myself in the process.”

“Like what?” she asked.

“My bones ache, and I have a bit of a limp that hasn’t managed to go away. I’m older now anyway. Some of these things were bound to happen as I aged.”

“It’s strange that nine years flew by in an instant for me,” she said. “I have people assuming I’m in my early thirties when I’m really still in my early twenties. People tell me I look so young and wonder how I did it, and I can’t say a word.”

“It is strange to see you so young now,” he replied. “But you are still as beautiful as you were when you were a teenager, and I think even nine years added wouldn’t change that.”

She blushed slightly at that. This reminded her of the old Sherlock, the one she had loved so long ago. “Thank you,” she said. “You look pretty handsome yourself. I like the longer hair. I had always thought your hair was too short when we were younger.”

“Yes, I remember you telling me that,” he said. “That influenced my decision to let it get longer, once I was away from my family.”

“I didn’t know that,” she said.

“I thought about you a lot, even as the years went by. I may have been stupid not to go back and fight for you, but your opinions stayed with me.” He paused. “I think even if I had I would have lost. Melody would have seen to that.”

“Yeah, I know,” she said with a sigh. “I’m not angry about it, but it still hurts. And it leaves me with the question of how different my life could have been.”

“It doesn’t dwell to think about it,” he said.

“But it’s there,” she said. “Don’t you ever wonder?”

“I do. But the past is in the past, and we can’t change it. You had to be with your husband for future events to unfold the way they needed to.”

“One day soon she’ll be gone,” she said quietly. “Then what will it all have been for? I’ll be a widow mourning a lost child who I never got to raise.”

“When that day comes, just know I will be there if you need to talk,” he replied. “You won’t have to go through it alone.”

“Are you sure?” she asked.

“Yes,” he said. “I did not work so hard to find you just to let you go again, even if I am destined to only be your friend.”

“That’s a very nice thing to say,” she said. “I could definitely use friends who understand what I’ve gone through.”

“You should come for dinner tonight. John is an excellent cook, as is his fiancée. Molly is supposed to be coming over tonight. I doubt they’ll mind an extra guest.”

“Are you sure?” she asked.

“Molly has asked to meet you anyway. John told her the whole story and she’s fascinated. She’d like to get to know you. And John will as well. It wouldn’t hurt to have more friends who you can talk to.” He paused. “Promise me you’ll think about it.”

“There isn’t much thinking I need to do,” she said with a smile. “I’ll come by for dinner. Should I bring anything?”

“Only if you feel like it,” he replied. “I would avoid wine, since I don’t drink it and Molly is avoiding it due to her pregnancy.”

“I can make a dessert,” she replied. “Do you know if they like berries?”

“Not offhand. But Molly has been craving sweet foods. A dessert would be good, I think.”

“I’ll bring a chocolate raspberry torte, then,” she said.

“I’m sure she’ll enjoy it.”

“Thank you,” she said.

“For what?”

“For taking my phone call at three in the morning. For promising to be there when I need you. For inviting me to dinner. For looking for me. For…well, everything.”

“You don’t need to thank me,” he said.

“Yes I do. Get used to hearing that phrase from me, Sherlock Holmes,” she said, and she could feel the smile on her face.

He chuckled slightly. “I should thank you as well.”

“Why?” she asked.

“For deciding to leave the car to me in the first place. If you hadn’t done that River never would have put the photograph in the glove compartment and I would have accepted the news of your death as exactly what it appeared to be.”

“Rory wasn’t happy with that decision, but we couldn’t think of anyone else who wanted it. And I saw all the pictures of you in the paper getting in and out of cabs, so I thought you might actually use it.”

“You saw the news articles?”

“Yeah, I did. You were all over the papers. That was how I knew you were okay. I didn’t know what you did, because I never read the articles, but I saw you and I knew you were fine.”

“I was never quite fine,” he replied. “There was a lot missing in my life.”

“But you have it now, right?” she asked.

“Mostly, yes. I had to fight tooth and nail for it, but I would say I am fine now.”

“Good.” She yawned. “I’m going to try and go back to sleep now. Thank you for letting me talk.”

“You can call at any time,” he said. “As long as I’m not busy with a case I’ll answer.”

“Okay. I’ll see you tonight for dinner. What time?”

“Seven, I believe.”

“I’ll be there around seven. Good night, Sherlock.”

“Good night, Amelia.”

She hung up the phone and uncrossed her legs, then laid back down and shut her eyes. Sleep came easily and she slept through the rest of the night. When she woke up a few hours later she felt refreshed and even excited. This was a good feeling, she realized. A very good feeling.


End file.
